Question for those living outside of Coventry Re. the future of your support (8 Viewers)

[davebart]

Have not & will not go near Sickfields...not even Jimmy's Hill. My take on our situation - hate the way our owners conduct themselves (i.e. Can pay, won't pay started that stance). I agree with their goal of uniting club & stadium being the way forward...do not like their tactics.

I live in Bath and now support Bath City.

My enthusiasm for CCFC has been waning ever since the McGinnity regime and in particular the way they treated Neville Hadsley and GMK. Remember them searching the entire crowd for cameras?

Nothing has happened for more than 13 years that has given me the slightest pride in the club.

The possibility of ownership of the stadium has always been available to SISU. Higgs actually have a simple financial requirement to fulfil to buy their share of it. The fact SISU have never even bought this, together with their willingness to move 34 miles from the City, merely confirms my concerns about a Hedge Fund owning a football club.

I must admit I have a natural aversion to the activities of Hedge Funds anyway.

However - have they looked at what, say, Southampton have achieved and belatedly realised what can be achieved? Is this Steve Waggots' influence. It can't be coincidence that we have had two decent managers on the trot.

 

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[Astute]

I live just over 4 hours away if the roads are clear and no roadworks. This includes getting past places like Manchester, Liverpool and Brum I leave my house about 4:30am to get to games. Going to Northampton wouldn't take much longer. But I will never go. No need to explain as it has all already been said by others.

I used to believe in supporting your local team. My eldest lad is 25 and in the army. He was a STH with Motherwell until he joined up as he was born near there. My next lad is 21 and a Grimsby STH as he was born there. They both go to watch Coventry sometimes. The last time was Yeovil away first game of the season last year as my lad was on leave. He was the only one that day with a Motherwell top on My 18 year old lad lives in Coventry but don't like football :facepalm: I have a 3 year old....4 next month... lad who is starting to love football. He loves my Coventry tops. He says he wants to watch the blue football team with me Now our nearest football team is Barrow. I decided he will love CCFC. His initials are CCFC It will be a few years before I take him to an away game. And I will never take him to Northampton. So he won't be able to go to see our team until we are back in Coventry

 

[BurbageSkyBlues]

Born and bread in Cov, late 50's. Brother a year older. Family firmly rooted to the city - At least five generations before me, all traced back to the same parish. Supported the sky blues since mid sixties. Used to sneak off to away games when I was still at school, parents thought I was at a friend's house for the day!

Moved all over the country, but still found my way home for matches. (Now settled in Burbage, can get to the Ricoh in ten minutes.) Been a season ticket holder for many of those years, when circumstances allowed. Two daughters brought up to support the club as well, and subsequently the eldest granddaughter, who had a season ticket with me at the Ricoh, until I decided that the atmosphere was becoming too vitriolic for her to be exposed to. Took my four year old grandson to the legends day as his first experience, met Darren huckerby who posed for a photo with him, great guy!

Sadly, these next two generations are being denied the opportunity to build the same relationship with their football club. We won't go to sixfields, it is just plain wrong. I despise Sisu for their lies, deception, and immoral behaviour. But I doubt thy will go away in a hurry. They won't have lost, until they walk, and I suspect that they are continually evolving plans of what to do next, in order to cater for changing circumstances and events. Watch out Northampton!

 

[James Smith]

My grandson and grand daughters will go to see our, my favourite club whenever and as soon as possible, in the short-term if that's Northampton & Sixfields, so be it! PUSB

Please don't think you have to go in - you can support from the hill.

I can't make it to many matches at all at the moment because of working on matchdays, however I still support the club and always will do. I replaced the financial support I would have given the team (from ticket sales) with merchandise sales. That's all stopped now as I don't can't and won't approve the move to Northampton.

 

[Joy Division]

Also a Birmingham resident here, seems to be a few of us. Think we need to get a Birmingham branch supporters club set up.

 

[skybluelee]

A football club is for life. Its impossible for me to compute the possibility of any football fan altering their allegiance. As I said on another thread, it's about as likely as selling your own children. Whether a Coventry fan is based in Coventry or elsewhere is irrelevant as far as I am concerned.

If SISU fail to return the club to Coventry I will support a pheonix club as a last resort, but I'm unsure whether I'd feel the same about them as I do about my real club. If a pheonix club didn't transpire I would stop following football. Simple as that.

I, like, everybody else, yearn for the day we are back (hopefully at the Ricoh). When it happens I (and two others) will be in the car and heading up the A31, M27, M3, A34, M40, A46 quicker than you can say "Play Up Sky Blues".

 

[shropshirecov]

I've said I won't go to Northampton, I may sneak over on Boxing Day.
I'll never forgive sisu for what they've done to our great club but I can't see them going anywhere soon.
I am also baffled how a stadium built for the football club became a millstone round it's neck. Totally unreasonable rent & terms agreed by consecutive daft owners. Compass & stadium management companies making good from us.

'People of Coventry' don't seem to won't the club to own the stadium or have the money it generates. So don't expect ccfc back anytime soon.

 

[skyblueinBaku]

When it happens I (and two others) will be in the car and heading up the A31, M27, M3, A34, M40, A46 quicker than you can say "Play Up Sky Blues".

That's the same route that Swanageskyblue and I take, Lee. It's a bit of a drag, isn't it? The return journey always seems quicker after a win, though! I suppose that it would be a shorter journey to Sixfields, but I don't intend to find out.

 

[singers_pore]

I emigrated in 2001 to Asia and I usually pop over every year to spend about 300 quid in the club shop and I usually go to 2-3 games per year.

This December I am bringing my family over from Singapore and I was hoping to take my son home and away. He went to HR as a nipper but he cannot remember it because he was too young. But he still tells people he's a Cov fan (*bless*).

I won't be going to Sixfields and I won't be spending any money in the club shop because I support NOPM. But we will go to the away games in December. I think he'll enjoy the atmosphere at the away games cos he's never seen anything like that before. The matches in Hong Kong and Singapore are rather sterile in comparison (like Sixfields).

 

[SkyBlueSid]

Just recently moved to a suburb of B'ham, moved in with partner. That certainly wouldn't have stopped me coming back for selected home games, the move to Northampton has. Even if I was living next door to the stadium, I would not attend. My head won't be turned by another (ok, I may nip up to see Sutton Coldfield every now and then) This is just another chapter in the trials & tribulations of being a Coventry City supporter. Hold tight kids, we will get back to Cov (where ever) In the meantime, wear your abstinence with pride, knowing that you're doing the right thing.

It sounds like you live not too far from me. I left Coventry in 1996 and have lived in Sutton since then. I started supporting City in 1963 and had my first season ticket in the West Stand when we were promoted in 1967. Never missed a home game in all that time, and moving here made no difference to that.

It has been a huge step to stop going after all those years, but I shall never go to Northampton to see Coventry. I am past caring who is to blame. There is a perfectly good stadium in Coventry so there can be no justification for playing in that dump miles from the City. Since I no longer go to away games, it means I am not seeing any games at all. My fear is that if we are away from Coventry for too long (beyond this season?) the inclination to get back into the habit of watching home games will have gone. The club is dying a slow death and if this goes on for 3 years there will be no club left to support.

 

[The Penguin]

Unlike many of you I have no ties whatsoever to Coventry other than the fact my dad is a born and bred Coventrian.

Consequently it would be easy for me to jump off and follow somebody else. It'll never happen though unless the club ceases to exist or does not return to Coventry (I currently do not share the view that near enough is good enough, sorry.)

Obviously because it's thousands of miles away I don't go to Sixfields, but I wouldn't even if I could. The money I would normally spend in the club shop has been redirected to Melbourne Victory (although I am going to relent and buy a top for my daughter, because I don't share the view that you shouldn't force your kids to follow a certain team!) and will continue to be redirected until the club returns to Coventry.

 

[skybluelee]

That's the same route that Swanageskyblue and I take, Lee. It's a bit of a drag, isn't it? The return journey always seems quicker after a win, though! I suppose that it would be a shorter journey to Sixfields, but I don't intend to find out.

Indeed, which is why the return journey usually seems longer!

Def closer to Northampton, but I wouldn't attend a Coventry 'home' game even if it was at the Bob Lucas Stadium in Weymouth, down the end of my road.

 

[ollyservetta]

why do i feel we are being asked all the time bout our loyalty .wer you live ,what opinion you hav all falls into insignificance come a home game ,its breaking people apart staying away ,its doing the same to those on the hill ,and im at loggerheads with myself over it all ,but i cant not support the team for 90 mins .i wish there was some way we could protest on the day from inside sixfields without causing a distraction to the team .somebody said in a thread bout sixfields burning down ,well i felt like that everytime i looked at the ricoh, ive never got round to leaving highfield road .not only the stadium tho ,its just the stand out object that reminds me of all the wrangling and thieving that went on ,.but now id go back tomorrow if the deal is right .i cant see how we could have survived under the last conditions ,and even more so under the present.but we need to be back in cov ,and must make that a priority.that said ,for us that travel to home games ,the facilitys round sixfields are excellent compared to the ricoh.its also not right to be slagging Northampton ,we approached them ,and as a fan of football i think we should all appreciate smaller clubs and the ground roots of the game.i know ive gone of thread abit but it is dividing us at times and at the end of the day its been citys resolve that has kept us going over the years ,who ever we are and wherever we live,

 

[Cheshireskyblue]

For me it is simply a matter of principle, I won't go to Sixfields, I can afford to & I could make the time, I just won't!

Agree 100%

 

[play_in_skyblue_stripes]

Since moving to Manchester and others place too, I still used to travel to games in Coventry.

I will never go to Northampton and have stopped going to matches. I did go to Port Vale purely to shout "SISU OUT". I feel my club is no longer mine and I did NOT enjoy that game at all . It just didnt matter. The only important thing is getting back to the City of Coventry and that has to be the Ricoh arena too.
The situation is unsustainable so something surely will happen. I do have some hope about a return to our fantastic Ricoh Arena as a lot of noises being made on both sides although no commitment yet.

When I heard Joy Lucas say lets get back by Christmas, I though wow "what a present that would be".

 

[King of the Lesbians]

Born in Cov, used to be a regular at HR, less so at the Ricoh due to the move there coinciding with me having to move to just outside Nottingham and also having to work some Saturdays.


Did get a bit more regular at the Ricoh when things calmed down a bit, occasionally took the kiddies to try and get them interested ("daddy, I'm bored", "daddy, that elephant's shit"), had family gatherings at the Ricoh if my bro' came up to see the parents (12+ match day tickets), but Northampton, without getting into why, ain't gonna happen for me.


Tempted to go and see Notts Country just to get my weekend footy fix but they sing stupid songs about wheelbarrows...

 

[SydneySkyBlue]

Great thread. Thanks Chorlton.

The stories told on here bring home how important the club is in people's lives and the affect of it being taken away.

The CT should publish them.

 

[Woodster]

I've always been from in and around Leamington and to be honest have never invested spending much time in visiting the City unless we were playing at home - I wonder what impact if any the local businesses have felt on Saturday afternoons so far?

Started regularly going to City games in the last season at HR when I was about 14 and then obviously ever since at the Ricoh. When the move to Sixfields was announced like many others I was very much of the attitude that hell would freeze over before I would be seen in Northampton.

I've been to the Port Vale and Wolves away games and will be at Walsall on Saturday. On Tuesday night however I found myself driving from working down south and Sixfields was only a couple of miles out of the way. Having been so proud with the showing at Molineux I decided that I would take in the Orient game, I also felt that going once would help give me some perspective from both sides of the fans' views. I don't feel that my £9 will make a significant impact upon lining SISU's pockets. I was very much there to support a young bunch of lads who are giving their everything in such a poisonous situation.

As much as I enjoyed the performance, I felt very uncomfortable being there. I don't regret going and I felt fine in the knowledge I was supporting the team rather than the relocation - but I don't feel how well we are playing and albeit some decent camaraderie between the fans who are making the trip is enough for me to want to go again any time in the near future. Back to the Ricoh.

 

[shropshirecov]

I've always been from in and around Leamington and to be honest have never invested spending much time in visiting the City unless we were playing at home - I wonder what impact if any the local businesses have felt on Saturday afternoons so far?

Started regularly going to City games in the last season at HR when I was about 14 and then obviously ever since at the Ricoh. When the move to Sixfields was announced like many others I was very much of the attitude that hell would freeze over before I would be seen in Northampton.

I've been to the Port Vale and Wolves away games and will be at Walsall on Saturday. On Tuesday night however I found myself driving from working down south and Sixfields was only a couple of miles out of the way. Having been so proud with the showing at Molineux I decided that I would take in the Orient game, I also felt that going once would help give me some perspective from both sides of the fans' views. I don't feel that my £9 will make a significant impact upon lining SISU's pockets. I was very much there to support a young bunch of lads who are giving their everything in such a poisonous situation.

As much as I enjoyed the performance, I felt very uncomfortable being there. I don't regret going and I felt fine in the knowledge I was supporting the team rather than the relocation - but I don't feel how well we are playing and albeit some decent camaraderie between the fans who are making the trip is enough for me to want to go again any time in the near future. Back to the Ricoh.

The cost to the local economy is significant. Financially & emotionally

 

[chorlton]

It's fantastic to sit and read all this, thank you for your responses. You can feel a little on your own when you live away but seeing that there's so many who, like me, feel torn by the whole thing is quite reassuring.

It's also been great to avoid the slanging match and just set out our story of how we came to be City fans and how we hoped our kids would follow us. I do think that if this does play out the way Fisher says then the club will lose a lot of youngsters. As

Like King of Lesbians (interesting name!) I may be singing about Wheelbarrows too over the coming years.

As GinettasStickySofa said, the CT (or the Trust) should publish these stories

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Born and raised in Coventry until I was about 25 then moved to where I am now between Bedford and Cambridge. have been a CCFC supporter since the mid to late 60's and I'm much nearer Shitfields than The Ricoh.

It's black and white for me, no fecking grey areas at all, I won't be going to any games (home or away) until my club goes back to Coventry.

I hope that makes my position clear.

 

[Blueandwhites]

For what it's worth, I don't live in the city and happen to live much closer to Northampton now. That said, I'll never go to Sixfields to watch CCFC. Having seen Coventry Rugby club (a big name historically), over the years gradually usurped by the now bigger midlands clubs like Northampton and Leicester, the thought of losing another Coventry sporting club (the sky blues) literally to a different town (northampton) is an absolute no-no, let alone a disgrace. I'd rather see Cov start again. Coventry Fc isn't a global brand with international stars like Man Utd that you could theoretically plant somewhere else geographically and still retain its identity. The clue is in the name 'Coventry'. I will only ever watch CCFC away or in Coventry until SISU are gone.

 

[ollyservetta]

We want to go home ,we want to go home ,thankyou northampton but ,we want to go home

 

[skybluelee]

We want to go home ,we want to go home ,thankyou northampton but ,we want to go home

Thank you Northampton?...

 

[ollyservetta]

Thank you Northampton?...

if nothing else they hav been hospitable .it must being serving them well ,I see their local rag saying they are putting their expansion plans for the ground into the council,maybe ,thanks but no thanks ,we wanna go home

 

[Monners]

This is for another thread, but the expsansion plans were going to happen regardles of whether we were there or not.

 

[Sky Blue Spud]

Judging from the responses to this thread it seems that most, including myself, do not actually reside in Coventry.

I say to all of you, you're just a bunch of 'Glory Supporters' just like those pseudo Man Utd fans!

 

[ollyservetta]

Judging from the responses to this thread it seems that most, including myself, do not actually reside in Coventry.

I say to all of you, you're just a bunch of 'Glory Supporters' just like those pseudo Man Utd fans!

id agree but ther has not been a lot of glory of late ,although beating the top of the league was very nice indeed ,even if it is 3rd division football

 

[slyblue57]

Moved from Durham to Cov when I was 4 as my Dad came to work there.
Never known anything but CCFC, I now live in Solihull and have indoctrinated my son into CCFC and my soon to be born grandson will support CCFC even though he does nt know it yet| Have been a season ticket holder for donkeys years but wo nt go to Northampton.
Me and the lad will carry on supporting Cov at the away games, its in our blood.
Pusb

 

[letsallsingtogether]

No he can't he believes were are all scum and don't really support Coventry we are not true fans

Please don't think you have to go in - you can support from the hill.

I can't make it to many matches at all at the moment because of working on matchdays, however I still support the club and always will do. I replaced the financial support I would have given the team (from ticket sales) with merchandise sales. That's all stopped now as I don't can't and won't approve the move to Northampton.

 

[The Prefect]

The matches in Hong Kong and Singapore are rather sterile in comparison (like Sixfields).

I lived in Singapore back in the mid 1990s when Singapore played in the Malaysian Premier League and got the the Malaysian FA Cup Final. It was a good crack in KL and Singapore was buzzin'! Ah yes, I remember it well!

Now living in the West Country but still have sky blue blood. I was born within the old city walls - my grandmother was born in Highfield Road.

SISU haven't had one penny from me since the day they bought the club. They failed to answer my questions at the shareholder's meeting and then stole my shares without paying for them when I refused to sign them over. They're not nice people to do business with.

 

[swanageskyblue]

That's the same route that Swanageskyblue and I take, Lee. It's a bit of a drag, isn't it? The return journey always seems quicker after a win, though! I suppose that it would be a shorter journey to Sixfields, but I don't intend to find out.

I appreciate the mention, Roger! That long journey to Cov is becoming a distant memory now. Although it might be marginally nearer to me, I also have zero intention of seeing us play at Northampton as it is simply wrong to play "home" games 30+ miles from Cov. As soon as we return to Cov, I will be back - assuming I am not totally decrepid by then!
Whilst I've got you, how about the Swindon game just before Xmas? It is the closest the Sky Blues are coming to Dorset this season.

 

[friendly_canary]

This thread is truly heartbreaking to a big football fan such as myself

I now completely regret going to Sixfields twice for matches and I have decided that I will not be going to another "home game" in Northampton.

I kind of feel guilty that I've played a part in Cov not being in Cov


Just get this f*cking mess sorted and bring Cov back to Cov.

 

[georgehudson]

many thanks 'fc' well over 80% of CCFC fans are in tune with your sentiments,
as a football fan, i would hate any club to be put in our predicament,
PUSB

 

[friendly_canary]

It was a hard decision because as someone who just wants to watch football every saturday I decided to start following Cov as it's impossible for me to get back to Norwich every weekend (I went to Arsenal away last weekend but cant make it back to Carrow Road for Cardiff).

Despite that though, me going to Northampton just doesnt seem right now. I will never set foot inside that ground again.